Detroit Food 2014 : Race to Good Food

The Detroit Race to Good Food conference at the HOPE conference center in Detroit was a full house on April 3rd, 2014.

April 14, 2014

The Detroit Race to Good Food conference at the HOPE conference center in Detroit was a full house on April 3rd, 2014. Organized by the Detroit Food Policy Council and attended by good food advocates from across Detroit and beyond and high school students from 4 school districts, this 2 day conference covered aspects of equity, economics, nutrition, policy, food system thinking and production.

Representatives from each district and drummers in Detroit presented a dramatic opening ceremony for the conference, fitting for a thought provoking, educational networking event.

LaDonna Redmond, Founder of the Campaign for Food Justice Now, led a keynote presentation taking the conference attendees through a history of colonialism, and the historical trauma of Native Americans and African Americans. She referred to the race for good food as stemming from the structural racism in the food system and suggested that to “win the race to good food” people of color need to continue to use food as an organizing tool for freedom and reclaim their story through the people, the land, labor, and food.

A series of workshops across the 2 day conference guided people through a variety of topics including understanding community food systems, cooperative economics, advancing urban agriculture and the double up food bucks program were presented.